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We shipped the kidlet off to basic training today
By adamg on Mon, 07/06/2009 - 11:10am
Or, at least, it felt like that.
Today was her first day at a three-week program at Boston Latin to get ready for the ISEE test this fall - which will determine whether she has a chance of getting into Latin or the other two exam schools (Boston Latin Academy and the O'Bryant School of Math and Science).
The day started with indoctrination orientation for students and parents. It was "Paper Chase" meets Army drill sergeant. The teacher leading the session (in a tie, as he made a point of pointing out) cheered the kids right up by telling them most of them would fail a test they'd be taking today. He warned them they were allowed to be late only twice - any more and they'll be drummed out. "Unless there's a death in the family - and it better be yours - don't be late!" he told the 350 or so fifth graders. At one point, he asked a question the students were supposed to answer. "Yeah!" they replied. " 'Yeah' is not in the dictionary!" he barked: When they need to answer in the affirmative, they have to reply "Yes!" (the "Sir!" was implied, I guess).
Ah, well. At least there were some other kids from her school - and the drill instructor teacher leading her new class out of the cafeteria seemed nice. Man, it seems like only yesterday we were putting her on a bus for kindergarten for the first time.
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Comments
"Yeah" totally is in the
"Yeah" totally is in the dictionary, it's just marked as informal.
Ah yes ...
the drill sergeant wannabe. If you ever did basic training, it is easy to pick out the assistant principal who never did time in the military (yet fancies himself or herself to be a military-style leader) from the more sensible soccer coach who exudes retired drill sergeant from every pore.
Great attendence policies in a time of epidemics. Yes.
July?
Let me check the calendar here, ... July 6th. Right smack at the start of summer break.
I bet the kidlet loved that rude awakening.
She was not the most thrilled person in the world
When we told her she'd been accepted into the program and we wanted her to go, no. Oh, and did I mention the weekend classes in the fall? :-).
But if it helps her on the exam, and we don't have to pay for a prep course it will, I hope, be worth it. It's a great system we have in Boston: The math part of the exam includes things that are NOT taught through fifth grade, which either forces you to spend a not inconsiderable amount on private Stanley Kaplan-like lessons OR hope your kid gets into a program like this.
Poor kid
Why has Latin become the holy grail in Boston Public education? Latin is not for everyone and if you don't fit the mold, it can be hell on earth. When my stepdaughter realized she was miserable at Latin and wanted out, I spoke to several principals at schools she would rather attend who all had the same reaction: we are not a haven for Latin drop outs.
Unless your daughter is type-A-I-will-absolutely-curl-up-and-die-if-I-don't-get-into-an-ivy-or-tier-one-college type who is thinking of what profession beyond her undergrad years she's up for (Doctor, Lawyer, whatever), then think Latin Academy. Investigate the other high schools (Fenway, School for the Arts, Another Course to College). It's asking a kid to give up an awful lot of their life in order to get into the "I want to get into Latin" class.
You must have missed the part in my post ...
Where I also mentioned Boston's other two exam schools.
You are absolutely right, though: Latin is not for everyone. Another part of our calculation: This course will give her and us some idea if she's cut out for Latin and, if she is, darn right we want her to be as prepared as possible for the exam.
Those grapes are very sour
Never underestimate the power of resentment. Because some children aren't smart enough or hard-working enough to survive at Latin, their parents want to tear it down for the kids who are.
There's a simple answer to the question: Latin is the best. It's not a matter of becoming. It was the best when it was founded, and it's never been anything else.
Of course Adam wants his girl to go to Latin. Why wouldn't he? And of course he'll accept it if she doesn't. What kind of parent would he be if he didn't? But Adam probably won't pop up here the next week talking trash about Latin.
I didn't want to say it McFoxy...
but you did. Latin is the best school in the system. Not even a question in my book.
Latin is the best school in
Latin is the best school in the system and at the same time not for everyone. The two are not mutually exclusive. Best of luck to the kidlet, Adam.
Latin literally saved the
Latin literally saved the lives of friends back in the day. It is an absolutely fabulous school... if it is right for you. So many people; however, become blinded by the holy grail that is Latin that I have to ask: why? Why is it after all these years that we can't point to all the Boston public schools as a place to proud of and desirable for all children.
Approximately 2/3's of the population at Latin attended private schools for K-5 years, already reducing the number of available slots for the general population.
Every parent looking at Latin as the salvation and future for their child(ren) should ask themselves what is the real cost of Latin? Given the amount of work that goes with it. For kids who can balance and focus - again, it's a great place but if it's at the cost of losing music or soccer or art or whatever, then is it worth it?
By the way, it's not sour grapes, my stepdaughter did not take the boot camp classes or prepare for the test and she had her choice of all exam schools. She was more than bright enough but it was the wrong school for her. I caution all parents looking at Latin to ask themselves to consider the whole picture and not just the clouds parting, the sun shining and the angels singing a perfect note when looking at Latin.
That is a very good point.
That is a very good point. Unless your kid is the best of the best why go through all the trouble? It may be better to be a well rounded student at another school, then be the kid just hanging on at the best school.
This is not the purpose of Latin
"A place to [be] proud of and desirable for all children" is not the point of a school like Latin. It's a desirable place to be for only some children, children who by and large would not be happy in other schools. The children who would not be happy at Latin have lots of other schools to choose from. The children who are happy at Latin have only Latin. Please don't militate to take it away from them in the name of Equality.
But lets face it..
A B+ grade at Latin looks better than a B+ at any other Boston Public School. I almost gave up on that entire school system when a kid from West Roxbury High didn't get into Boston College with an A- GPA! And he was a basketball star! Of course he had 700-800 SAT scores which were more important back in the 1990s (And still are for the NCAA).
But Boston Latin really isn't a public school, since the public can't go there unless they score well on a test. Just like the public cant go to Roxbury Latin unless they have good grades, a good test score, and usually money.
Not really a public school?
It's a selective public school. That doesn't make it any less public. Most big cities, here and abroad, have some selective public schools. And why shouldn't they? It's a way to respect diversity. Kids have different aptitudes and interests, and a rigorous academic school is what some kids need. Saying that's something you can only get if you pay money would be horrible.
It's true that a B+ at Latin looks better. That's because it means more. The selectivity and difficulty of an exam school present a kind of guarantee. Also, Latin is an academic school, and the skills needed to succeed at Latin are very similar to the skills needed to flourish academically in college. That said, there are other good public high schools in Boston where a kid can get a good education. On the other hand, having graduated from BPS is no guarantee that you are at all academically capable. DW used to give a reading test to BPS graduates before she would hire them.
SAT scores were more important back in the 90s because the expectation that a basketball player go to college 'for real' has gradually disappeared. Boston College expected your friend to actually pass classes, and because they figured he wouldn't, they didn't accept him. Now it's assumed that most college basketball stars won't really go to class, won't really do the work themselves, and won't really graduate. They are fake students. And horribly exploited, IMHO. Most of them never get the payoff of pro ball, and end up just going back to the neighborhood without having learned much in college, let alone gotten a degree.
The public school system is trapped in a world of conflicting expectations. The fact is that college is not and never will be appropriate for all kids, yet the myth that all people should go to college requires graduating students who don't deserve it, and then pretending that all grads are qualified. The buck is passed down the line and then you have Harvard giving remedial courses to students who can barely read.
I think something "selective" makes it a little less public.
but respecting diversity? I would think a school that uses a score on an adacemic test as a requirement would be less diverse. Unless you mean the quota system that Boston Latin has?
And the kid from Roxbury that goes to a BPS school from K-8 doesn't usually match up against the kid that did K-8 at Holy Name or The Park School when it comes down to a test score.
I didn't know the kid at West Roxbury High, but imagine doing the best you could possibly do class/grade wise, but still not be good enough to get into a school? Here was a kid, not from West Roxbury but had to get up early and take a bus to West Roxbury High school, who then got the best grade you could possibly get, and still not get into a college? Granted, I think BC has a lot of fault in this one, and Im not sure of the whole story, as it was during a time of a gambling controversy at BC among athletes, but my general point is that I don't think Boston Latin should be the school you go to if you want to go to college. The kid that gets an A- GPA at any other BPS should also have that chance.
The kid, Elton Tyler ended up getting a full scholorship at the University of Miami. Another student denied that year, South Boston High School Grad Charles DePina ended up going to Umass Amherst. And they both ended up doing ok and graduating I think.
But SAT scores are just as important with the NCAA now as they were back in the 1990s.
I thought the Quotas at Latin got thrown out
When some white girl's family sued.
I think "official" quotas got thrown out.
Im not exactly sure, but I think the old policy actually set an exact number or percentage to which groups got in or not. I believe now they still do it, but they just don't have official numbers on it.
I dont think its a situation where 3000 kids take the test and the top 400 scores get in kind of thing.
Yes, respecting diversity
I do not accept the modern, euphemistic definition of "diversity" as referring solely to proportions of melanin.
Diversity means difference: kids are different from one another, in many ways. Their skills, aptitudes, interests, backgrounds, and goals are different. If all schools are the same, that doesn't respect their diversity. Having academically selective schools, arts-oriented schools, science-oriented schools, etc. respects diversity among students.
In the case you cite, yes, it sucks that the school strung that kid along for so long, telling him that his work was of excellent quality, and let him find out it wasn't only once it was no longer their problem. A good question is what was the school supposed to do, and when? I imagine that if they'd given the kid a more objective idea of the quality of his work, he wouldn't have been able to play ball for them, and the school itself would have been punished. The kid might have dropped out if he kept getting held back for summer school and remedial work. The teachers were probably under great pressure to fudge his grades. Idealism always shipwrecks on realpolitik.
It's good those kids didn't go to UConn, where the graduation rate of black basketball players is 22 percent. That's what you call the soft bigotry of low expectations. I hope they managed to learn something and make something of themselves, despite the system. It's very hard to succeed at a university as a fish out of water like many ball players are.
It is a real drag that the private school kids tend to beat the public school kids on The Test. It should be a major goal of the system to reverse that. On the other hand, it's a good yardstick because it gives an objective measure by comparing with the private school kids - they can't just fudge it by making the test easier or giving special back-door admission to their favorite kids (like they do with the AWC).
Ok but I dont think you can have that group of "diverse students
Like if you said "this school is for kids who want to go to college and are serious about academics". Wouldn't the school be less diverse if it had all students like that? Or you mean like system wide diversity? I would think if you had each school with a non-diverse group of students would actually make the system less diverse.
But every school should have that (good academics and going to college) as the main goal. I agree that some schools should have stronger art, music or sports programs, but every school should have an academic goal of going to a four year college and continuing an education. And I understand the whole "college isn't for everyone" argument, and schools should eventually recogonize those who might not be suited for a 4 year college. And those schools (or systems) should have something prepared to get those students ready for something.
When the majority of high schools in Boston have less than 30-50% of students going to a 4 year college, but Boston Latin probably has 90% I think there is something wrong there.
Now I think I like what charter schools are doing, and it seems that Boston Latin is almost doing the same thing. Maybe the Elton Tyler example is just an abberation, but I would hate to think that kid got rejected only to find out he went to the high school that was "diverse" in the sense that the kids that went to W. Roxbury High werent there to go to a 4 year college.
And Im going to bet the percentage of kids that went through the UConn basketball program had a better experience at Uconn than the general student population. Are they as successfull today? Salarywise the average might be a lot higher, but take the NBA salaries out of there and they probably aren't.
I think this world would be
I think this world would be a better place if smart kids had some exposure to kids who are not quite as smart as they are. After all I can only assume the Latin kids will ultimatly be more likely be the leaders of tomorrow then the kids from other Boston schools. If they do not have exposure to non super academic types from 6-12 and then college how will they know what the rest of the world is up to?
I was in Newton the other day and overheard some 30 somethings talking about life. Yeah 120,000 a year is not enough and with this economy there is no bonus in site. The other one sighs, seems like he can not buy a new car this year, his other one is two years old. Ummmmmm guys have you been to other parts of the city lately? These are the same types who run the show everywhere, it is no wonder why they do not have a concept of how the other half lives. We have been segregating them since the 6th grade or earlier from reality.
Good point- but who knows whether
those two guys are even that smart? "Connections", otherwise known as "human capital", are still just as important today as they were in the corrupt, nepotistic past. The two rich twentysomething dudes you overheard might have been "segregated from reality" all their lives, sure, but I'm not sure we can assume it was because of their superior talents, intelligence, or industriousness
(of course, we probably shouldn't assume the opposite, either). Scary as it seems in our supposed meritocracy, I've had two significant jobs in the past eight years- I "knew people" at both of them before I applied. I'm sure I'm not the only one, either. One of the original purposes of "quotas" and "affirmative action", I think, was to remedy the racial deficit in "connections"- the "who you know" that matters so much in job hunting and life prospects.
Actually I have not held
Actually I have not held down a job since early college without having an "in" with the company. In fact Ive been turned down for lesser positions at other companies only to find out later someone with much less experience then me got the job but happened to be friends with other people in the company.
That is even more the reason why we should not split people up. We are helping to enforce these splits in society by creating whole schools that are just for smart kids or in the case of NY they even have that school (is it still around?) for GLBT teens.
I agree with your point on quotas but always felt they left out poor white people which is their ultimate flaw. A quota does not hurt rich/well off white people looking for jobs but it does hurt a poor white person who does not have those same connections. So now not only do they not have an "in" with the company but they are also pushed down even more because they are the wrong color. Quotas would make more sense if they could somehow be class based.
I think that's one of my
I think that's one of my problems with Latin. The bottom line is around 2/3's of the population come from private schools. For those kids in the city who are bright, talented and don't have the fortune of being able to attend specialized instruction geared specifically towards "the best of the best of the best" lose out. Why are seats at a public school given to kids from families who basically thumb their nose at the system?
Think of the kids in Boston who miss out - the ones who lose a seat at Latin because the public schools are lesser schools for whatever reason (budget cuts, overcrowding, burned out teachers, parents can't afford some of the higher priced testing prep programs offered by services like Kaplan, etc.) that, if given the same opportunities as the kids from the tonier parts of Boston. When some high schools in Boston struggle to have enough books for basic instruction, the alumni from BLS donate leather chairs to the library. When the art program is cut at Latin, there are protests at City Hall. When English and Math teachers are cut at Charlestown High, people shrug and figure it's not like the kids there want to do something with their lives for real anyway.
The testing process is a good way to legally exclude the kids that are less than above average. So yeah, they will always have the highest test scores and the kids that go onto top tier schools but we never hear about the kids that drop out because they can't handle the pressure and strain that goes with being at Latin. The old hippie in me would love to see a little more equity across the board so that instead of one school of exceptional kids, we had a close to a whole system of them.
In an ideal world, absolutely
New York has exam schools, too. I didn't apply to any of them (or take the exam to begin with) because my parents knew I could get a good education at my local high school. Even at the absolute nadir of the school system (mid-1970s with the entire city on the verge of collapse), the school offered a ton of AP classes and the like.
But as you note, we're dealing with a far from perfect system here (one other thing to keep in mind, though - the exam is not the only criterion - entrance is also dependent on the last marks of fifth grade and the first set from sixth grade).
This is a crucial point.
Perhaps, as a friend of my brother once suggested, admittance to Latin should be reserved to public school "graduates" only. Give everyone several years' notice as to the change- perhaps you'll see a citywide reinvestment /reinvigoration in our public grammar schools. Or maybe Latin wouldl just go down the tubes- I don't know.
So you're betting
That the 78% of black basketball players at UConn who drop out and don't get degrees have a better experience at the university than the students who are there for real? If there were a way to verify that, I'd take the other side of that bet. My observation was that it was a miserable slog for them, which was almost certain to end in failure. Some of them tried hard and were clearly intelligent enough to succeed, but the deck was stacked against them. They didn't fit in with the other students, and were exhausted every minute of the day. All you need to do is slip up and take the car keys the coach gives you and you're out.
And, yes, I'm talking about the diversity of the student population as a whole. Having different types of high schools is a good way to encourage individuation, rather than trying to force all kids into a one size fits all program.
Yes, there is something wrong there when half the students don't go on to college. But the something wrong is not with the place where 90% of the students go to college. Nor is the solution to insist that 100% of students everywhere go to college. Instead of handing down pronouncements from on high, and fudging the numbers to meet your goals, the root cause must be addressed.
The resentment some people have for The Test, and the idea that some kids might do well on the test whereas others do poorly, leads some to want to tear down either the test or the selective schools on the other side of it, educational carnage offered up to the false god of Equality (shades of the Monkey House!). But instead of being mad about the objective standard that shows us how our school kids don't measure up, and trying to destroy all evidence of it, we should be mad about the fact they don't measure up, and determined to fix the problem. The fundamental problem has to do with 30-50% of kids coming to kindergarten with a severe deficit, which is never remediated. We just tiptoe around it for six years, and then heave a sigh of relief as de facto tracking sets in and we don't have to see them anymore.
That kid wasn't rejected because he went to the bogus high school. Probably many of the kids he went to school with went to college just fine. He was rejected because the school just passed him along for twelve years without addressing the problem he came to school with. You wouldn't want to piss off his parents by noting that his vocabulary is half the size of his classmates', and he can't write worth a damn. If you tried to give him remedial help or special enrichment activities starting at K2, you'd likely get fired for offending Equality.
Allowing the prep school kids to compete on The Test gives us a standard we can't fudge. Instead of eliminating the competition, as some have suggested, we should be beating them. We should track what measures line up with with success on the test, and figure out what changes can increase students' performance on those measures as early as possible in the school process. Remedial help is going to do much more good in first grade than Freshman year.
Uconn Basketball
Well I guess there are two experiences, the educational experience and the college experience. Ive worked in a d1 college athletic department where the black athletes loved the college atmosphere, and actully did well in the educational field too. But Uconn basketball might not be the best example as a good amount of those players leave early to earn millions of dollars in the NBA, and if you graduate in 5 years the stats usually count you as "not graduating". The Uconn football team might be a better example today. But those guys choose to be there. I never bought the exploitation thing either way. D1 college athletics are almost like internships for althetes who want to get a job at the next level. Most don't but you have to hope they get they use the opportunity given to them.
In terms of schools I just think larger high schools with opportunites for everyone is the best answer. Thats how the city of Newton does it, and thats how Brookline does it, and thats how Roxbury Latin does it. And except for Roxbury Latin, Brookline, Newton North, and Weston and Wellesley high schools have programs for everyone. AP, honors, standard, remedial, music, art, science, sports, clubs etc.....and oh wait...Boston Latin can be included in that group of schools as well. Although Im not sure about the remedial classes there.
I sure did...
Especially considering my birthday's in two days...
You know, it isn't really fair they make the smart kids go to summer school and the dumb kids get to stay home and laze about..
Great attendence policies in
I have a feeling the types of parents who would send their kids to this sort of training would be smart enough to know not to send their kids to summer session if they are actually sick or have swine flu. A little bit of faux bluffery like this is good for kids in that age group. It doesnt matter what they say, its what they do when a kid does miss three days because grandma died and they were really sick. Im sure with a proper note from mom and dad everything would be fine.
Yep
In fact, official Boston Public Health Commission policy is to have kids with flu-like symptoms stay home for seven days. But, fortunately, flu drops off dramatically in the summer - and swine-flu cases have been decreasing rapidly - so hopefully this won't be an issue.
Um, yeah it is.
This guy needs to recheck his dictionary.
He ain't right.
Yeah versus Yes
We were told to say YES instead of YEAH in basic training, but it had nothing to do with the dictionary.
The reason given was that YEAH is not only informal, but it can be ambiguous when shouted above the noise of a running engine or other loud situation where you need to be very clear (or over a radio as well). YES and NO are much easier to pick out clearly than yeah and nah.
It took about 100 push ups to get me in the "right" habit. (memory of bicep burn ...)
Not that either are an issue in a school room situation. Again, sounds like a militaristic wannabe.
Funny "Yeah" vs. "Yes" Story
When I was in third grade, my teacher sent a note home to my parents. She complained that I was giving her sass.
(That was her choice of words in the note, not mine now.)
Anyway, when my mom asked me about it, I was nonplussed. I couldn't think of any instance of me being anything other than polite and well-behaved. For her part, my mother believed me. So, she paid the teacher a visit.
Turns out that I had been saying "Yes", rather than the "Yeah" that all the other kids said. I was raised to say "Yes", as opposed to "Yeah". The dope of a teacher thought I was saying it as a form of sarcasm.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
I taught the Language Arts
I taught the Language Arts portion of this prep course several years ago. I found the vast majority of the kids in my classes to be extremely motivated and bright. I think the program does a great job in helping BPS students compete with their private school counterparts. Kudos to your kidlet for spending a few weeks of her summer helping her get ready for her future. I am a fifth grade teacher outside of Boston and most of the kids in my class would definitely balk at the very idea!
Latin School, Prep Classes, Boston Public Schools, Etc.
I attended Latin twice.
I passed the exam and entered Latin in the 7th grade, did poorly, and transferred out to Woodrow Wilson in Dorchester for 8th grade (I would not have been promoted had I stayed at Latin, but because of the vast difference between the schools, I was allowed to begin in 8th grade at The Woody.)
I passed the exam a second time and went back to Latin for 9th grade. I did poorly again and transferred back to Woodrow Wilson middle of 9th grade. I had also passed the exam for Boston Tech (now O'Bryant) and that's where I went 10 through 12 and graduated.
Latin is, indeed, a tough school. A kidlet needs to be ready to buckle down and put in a lot of hard work to get through with good grades.
Having told you all of that, I'll also tell you that four of us from my neighborhood in Dorchester (of a core group of 9 boys who hung together) passed the Latin exam WITHOUT ever taking any prep courses for it. This is probably a testament to how good the Boston schools were in the 1960's as opposed to today.
Of that core group of 9 boys? Within the 5 remaining who did NOT pass the Latin exam, 3 passed the Tech (O'Bryant) exam, as did all 4 who had passed the Latin exam. Of the 9, only 4 graduated high school - 3 from Boston Tech, and one from Don Bosco (he had not taken any of the exams, being slotted for DB right from the start.) I was the only one of the Latin attendees who did. My three classmates chose - or, more likely, choice of their parents - to repeat a grade at Latin. They all dropped out by the 9th grade.
What I might gather from all of this, if I were a disinterested observer, would probably be that prep classes may or may not be a necessity for the exams, but will probably be helpful in actually surviving the school.
Or maybe I was just a lazy-ass kid, and nothing would have changed the course of my own personal history, and nobody should use my experience for anything other than to have a small chuckle at the weirdness of it.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Keep in mind times are also
Keep in mind times are also different now then they were then. These days to be a great basketball player at a school you need to be in training camps from the age of 4. We have become much more of a specialized society where there is ever increasing competition at the top with many kids becoming experts in one thing. I have a lot of admiration for student athletes that excel in both sports and school (and who manage to hold down a social life.)
Latin
I have pretty mixed feelings about some of the comments here, and it's hard to know who to respond to with so many anon's, but here goes. It's a pretty amazing school. Elitist, without a doubt, but despite the obvious inequities of private v. public, test preps, etc. which are almost impossible to get rid of completely, it's about as meritocratic as you can get. You can't get in on your connections, your looks, or how much money you plan to donate to the library. For what it's worth, my kid goes there--public schools, btw, and no test prep--and she is ridiculously happy. It is definitely not the school for everyone, especially if you have serious extracurriculars that take up a lot of time. But it's also not a school full of relentless type-A's either. Lots of very creative, funny, clever kids--it does seem that the kids who are brilliant at math or Latin are also brilliant cellists or swimmers--but they're pretty normal too! Not all of them are destined for Harvard and they don't seem to mind.
The point that bugs me here is the carping about the funding, etc. When the news came out this past year that the BLS budget was about to be slashed, it was the KIDS that got organized first--the parents were miles behind. They had a FaceBook group up in a matter of hours, organized rallies, sent letters and e-mails, went to all of the rallies. And btw, they were very deliberate and aggressive about rallying on behalf of funding for ALL BPS schools, not just BLS. The school itself is as spartan as any other BP school--the funds that they raise from alumni go mostly for scholarships and I think some sports programs--private funds cannot go to pay teacher salaries or hire more guidance counselors. My point, I guess, is that yes--I wish that Charlestown High was also some place that I'd consider sending my kid. I wish that all of the schools had adequate funding for better sports and arts programs, smaller class size, etc. But again--these BLS kids went ballistic when they heard about cuts to the AP classes, the theatre program and they immediately did something about it. The majority of the kids I know from BLS are from middle class/professional families--maybe they have an increased sense of empowerment but they're also diligent, hardworking, determined and committed. It's an exciting atmosphere to be in, and it's definitely raised the bar for my smart but slightly indolent and disorganized kid! She's definitely working harder than she ever has before, but she loves her friends, loves her sports team, and loves school. And what more could I ask for as a parent?
Seconding Sal
Nothing I could say (as a parent of 3 BLS graduates) that was not already said above.
Latin Test Prep Program
Hey Adam
Would you prefer the teacher on the first day of an intensive accelerated test prep program say:
"children please, please try to be here as often as possible and get here before 10AM AND homework is optional. Now "kidlets", remember if you feel your teacher gives you any trouble be sure to run and tell Mommy and Daddy so they can complain to the administration and set things straight like they did for you in elementary school. Okay if anyone wants to conclude this orientation with a group hug yell, yeah!"
C
Neither of those options for addressing young students sounds great to me.
You Are Late
Your comments are dismissed.
And then they should all be hazed, right?
There are ways of getting kids to respect your authoritah and doing things like getting to class on time without making them feel like they've just signed up for the Army.